Drop in sales of Japanese manufacturers in China

The three major Japanese automakers _ Toyota, Nissan and Honda _ have said that their sales of vehicles in China last year the fall had the heart of a territorial dispute with Chinese encourages consumers to boycott Japanese products.

Toyota Motor said its sales in China had decreased by 4.9 percent in 2012, 840,500 vehicles, the first annual decline since at least 2001. Sales of Nissan Motor fell 5.3 percent, 1 181,500 vehicles, the first decline since the formation of a joint venture with a local partner in 2003.

Sales of Honda Motor in China ceded 3.1 percent, to settle at 598,576 units, a second decline in a row.

The decision of the Japanese government in September to capture a series of islands in the South China Sea at the hands of Japanese private interests has triggered protests and boycotts in China.